I'm Excited!!!

I just made an appointment to go see a new doctor this Friday. I'm super-excited because:
a) it's surprisingly soon (my old doctor used to have a wait of 1-2 months before the earliest appointment)
b) I get to see a doctor who maybe, hopefully, will make me feel better
and
c) I get to start off a new relationship with my doctor better educated and better prepared than I've ever been before (for which I have this board to thank).

So this time I'm going in and making sure I tell him everything and not back down and be SURE that he does more tests than just the standard TSH that we always get stuck with.

The only downside is that this is a male doctor which makes me a little bit uncomfortable, but hey, if he knows what he's doing there'll be no complaints from me!

I used to hate going to the doctor more than anything, and now I'm all happy and excited about my appointment. Imagine that!

Someone once suggested on here that females should have their husbands or another strong male advocate go to their doctor's appointments with them. In a perfect world you would be afforded the same quality time and care that a male patient gets but experience shows over and over that doctors--male and female--are more likely to listen and respond to males. Females with a list of complaints (even the legitimate ones common to thyroid sufferers) are too often seen as complainers: "It's all in your head!" or "It can't be as bad as you're making it out to be."

If you have a husband or a male friend whom you know and trust take him with you to this appointment. It can't hurt and will very likely help set a positive tone with this new doctor.

Everytime I start to feeling intimidated by a male doctor, I just tell myself that I AM PAYING HIM AND HE WORKS FOR ME. If I hired a mechanic and he didn't fix my car correctly, I would definitely have no problem either

a) telling him off and taking my car to another mechanic

b) Or not paying him

Remember,

He is not doing this for free, and hopefully you will get a doctor who will show respect and compassion. Good luck

Whoa it never even occurred to me that there may be a difference in how males and females are treated by their doctor. Though I guess that just points out how inexperienced I am at this whole thing (I'm 22 and this is my first "real" health issue). Unfortunately there's not really anyone I can take with me, so I'll just go ahead myself and not let him ignore me. Though I'll think positively for now and assume that he's the perfect doctor that I've been waiting for, unless I discover otherwise!